Cops 'n Robbers (Sly and Carmelita)
by Alvin H. Davenport
Summary: CHAPTER UPDATE: 4th Chapter (A Tangled Web, Pt. 1). The usual story of the cop and the robber, but with a twist. A tale of friendship and romance through the years of running and chasing the feelings that they hid for so long. This story begins with Sly 2, Episode 2, and goes forward from there, and is a slightly altered version of the story. T for minor swearing.
1. Chapter 1: Sparks

**Okay guys, so this is my very first fanfic, so I apologize in advance for any obvious mistakes in the writing. I got the idea for this while watching some gameplay of the old games through the Sly Collection on PS3, and after I got over the nostalgia, I decided that it would be cool to write a story about my favorite OTP since I was like 5. Feel free to drop some feedback or give some advice or something, because I kinda still have no idea what it is I'm doing on this site and I am open to any suggestions or help. Anyway, the story picks up right after Bentley destroys the bridge during Operation: Hippo Drop in Sly 2. I'll likely be continuing this, if I get any sort of support for it. I have an idea of where I want to take this and how far it'll go. Enjoy, and let me know what you think! Disclaimer: I don't own Sly Cooper or any of the characters portrayed in this story.**

* * *

"Okay Sly, the bridge is down. I'll warm up the van and get ready with the RC chopper. Good luck."

"Nice work, Bentley. I'll see you in a little bit."

Sly adjusted his tuxedo, and looked around the massive ballroom. Hundreds of faces crowded the palace, and if everything went according to plan, not a single one would notice Murray taking away the Clockwerk wings. He chuckled to himself; the thought of Murray hanging from a rope _Mission Impossible_ style would've been hysterical if the situation wasn't so serious. Then again, Sly wasn't exactly taking it too seriously anyway.

Right on cue, Sly watched as a pair of guards made their way to Rajan. The tiger's complexion turned angry for a moment, as his men gave him the news of the bridge's destruction. A moment later, he mouthed some words to the guards and sent them away. Rajan settled down again, but the tension was clear on his face. He was anxious, alert, and that could present a problem. Obviously, he needed some entertainment to take his mind off of it. It was time to get to work.

Sly put a hand to his ear and turned on the mic.

"Murray, you in position?"

"Check!" came a muffled reply.

"It looks like Bentley's little distraction did the trick. Initiate phase two – I'll take care of Carmelita and the crowd, you handle the heavy lifting."

He began searching for Carmelita; he needed to keep her attention for as long as he could so that neither she nor the palace guests would see Murray getting away with the wings. Fortunately, that was a task that he was more than willing to perform. His heart beat a little faster than usual, excited to spend some time up close with his favorite policewoman.

Spotting something out of the corner of his eye, Sly turned to see Carmelita stepping out onto the floor. She looked anxious somehow, but still as beautiful as ever. The dress that she was wearing gave her a certain elegance that Sly couldn't remember seeing before, and it was incredible. Without a doubt, this was the best part of the operation. Sly ran his fingers through his hair one last time to straighten up, and then went out to meet the lovely officer.

Striding out into the center of the room, he watched her face break into a subtle smile as she recognized him. Thanks to Neyla, he was able to convince Inspector Fox to agree to dance with what she thought was a total stranger tonight, and very few things were as fun to Sly as hiding in plain sight.

Carmelita looked on expectantly as her dance partner came to her, and held out his hand.

"Miss Fox, I believe you owe me a dance."

She rolled her eyes and chuckled.

"About time. I thought you had left," she replied with false seriousness.

"Just waiting for the perfect moment."

"Right. You and your timing."

Wait… What? Sly raised an eyebrow at her.

"What do you mean by that?"

As they clasped hands and drew together, Carmelita leaned forward and whispered in his ear, "Cooper, putting on a tuxedo and calling it a disguise isn't gonna fool me. Unlike the rest of these brain-dead goons, I know a familiar face when I see one."

She tugged at the ends of his mask and laughed.

"You're even wearing that same damn mask, Ringtail."

Sly felt the blood drain from his face beneath his fur. His disguise didn't work. Carmelita had him trapped here; he couldn't run, he needed to stay and play the distraction. If he left, the operation was a bust. Suddenly, this situation felt a whole lot more dangerous than it did a few seconds ago. His mind raced to come up with a way to get out of it.

Trying to stay calm, he spoke to his dance partner in his usual suave tone, trying to figure out what to do.

"If you know it's me, why haven't you arrested me yet?"

The music began to play in the background, and they put their arms around one another to begin.

Carmelita seemed to notice the worry that came across Sly's expression, and her eyes widened. She spoke in a hushed tone, "No no, Sly, I'm not here to arrest you. Not you or your friends. Whatever you're doing here, I'm not here to stop you."

She stared into his eyes with a strange intense sincerity not often seen by a thief, and it made his scalp tingle. He was stupefied. What did she mean, "not going to arrest him?" It didn't make sense. He felt a wave of relief come over him anyway, but made sure to keep his guard up in case things went south. On cue, they began to step forward, their bodies pressed together in artistic conjunction.

Sly tried to make sense of it for a little while, but quickly forgot what he was worrying about. The two of them kept dancing, moving gracefully together to the beat of the song, twirling and raising their legs in an intricate fashion. They swung back and forth, holding each other and watching each other with every step. As she fell into his arms, they paused for a moment; by this point, they had forgotten all of the eyes that lay intently upon them.

Sly decided to continue the conversation, as his own curiosity had now peaked.

"But… if you aren't here to arrest me, why are you here?"

"Oh, don't flatter yourself Sly, there are other criminals to chase after," she said with a smirk. Then she let out a soft sigh.

"Here's the thing. I was assigned here to investigate rumors of an illegal spice operation-" she glanced at Rajan, and lowered her voice, "-and I've found everything I need. We have everything we need to incriminate Rajan, I just…" she trailed off.

Sly sighed with relief. So the operation was still a go.

"Just what?" he asked with flirtatious curiosity.

"I just want to enjoy a dance with someone tonight, before that someone runs off again like he always does. Is that too much for a girl to ask?"

The raccoon grinned from ear to ear, because it wasn't often that Carmelita flirted back with him.

"Not at all, Miss Fox. It'd be my pleasure to be that someone."

"Good. I don't like it when things don't go my way."

Sly laughed, "You don't have to remind me."

He spun her about, holding her face close to his as they waltzed from one side of the room to the other. Sly began to completely forget why he was there, what he was trying to do; he was slipping into another reality with no crowd, no job, no Klaww gang, no Clockwerk. There was only the enchanting woman whom he held in his arms, and nothing else.

"God, Cooper, where did you learn to dance like this?"

"I watched a movie," he said matter-of-factly.

Carmelita laughed, and pulled Sly even closer than they already were. For the first time in a long time, it looked like the dangerous cop was actually having some fun. It was actually kind of amazing to see, and Sly couldn't keep his eyes off of her for more than a few seconds at a time. He made a promise to himself right then to make time for he and Miss Fox to spend more time together in the future. She deserved more relaxation time than she probably got.

Thinking about it, as much time as he spent running away from her (and as much time as she spent chasing after him), Sly felt as though he didn't really know his lawful pursuer as well as he should have. It seemed as though this was one of the few times that he could finally see the real Carmelita, and who she really was behind that badge that ruled so much of her life.

Eventually, the music became softer and slower, as the dance began to come to a close. The two dancers had completely lost themselves in the tango; neither could pay any attention to anything but each other. Both of them moved as one, with such ease and finesse, they had the entire palace audience mesmerized by their performance. Of course, neither of them even noticed.

As the final notes played out, Carmelita fell into Sly's arms, her own hands wrapped around the back of his neck. When the music stopped, they stayed there for one moment, then another, then three, just gazing into each other's eyes. They were completely silent except for the sound of their breathing. The sight awed the crowd, and not a single person noticed the giant pink hippo slipping away with the massive metal wings in his arms.

Sly and Carmelita finally let go of one another, and they started to come back to reality. The palace filled with the sounds of lavish applause, praising the wondrous performance. Sly sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

"That was…"

"…really nice," Carmelita finished. "Thank you for that. Really."

"The pleasure was all mine, Inspector," he replied with a mischievous smile. "You know, I wouldn't mind sharing another dance with you, should the opportunity arise."

She put a hand on Sly's cheek, and he could feel the warmth radiating from under her glove.

"That's a very tempting offer, Cooper. I might just take you up on it."

Hearing her say this made Sly happier than he would admit, and he smiled inwardly at how well this had turned out. However, he still didn't understand why he was being spared the sting of a shock pistol.

"Carm, I still don't get it though. You've practically made it your life's work to put me behind bars… why waste the opportunity here?"

She smirked.

"You're right, it is my life's work. And that hasn't changed. I don't need to rush it though; you always end up in trouble somehow, so I've got no doubt that I'll have many more chances to catch you after tonight. Besides, once I _do_ arrest you (and I will), what then? All of the other criminals I've gone after are boring."

"Glad to know I'm a challenge," he replied playfully. "You know how hard I try."

"Oh don't I know it."

She glanced at her watch, and then looked back up at Sly.

"Listen, this has been really fun, but you should probably get going. Y'know, before the handcuffs come out and the rest of us blow our cover." She gave him a shifty smile, and said, "You know what? I'll even give you a ten-second head start."

"No worries, gorgeous. I was already on my way out."

"Were you? You gonna leave early this time?" she said humorously.

Suddenly, Rajan jumped up from his chair, roaring with rage.

"The wings! What happened to the Clockwerk wings?!"

Carmelita swung around, and stared at the now wingless statue. Putting a hand on the shock pistol concealed in her dress, she started to warn Sly, "Okay Ringtail, you'd definitely better start…"

But when she turned around, he was already gone.

"…running." She sighed, and laughed to herself. What a shocker, he was already gone. Speaking of shocking though…

"Everyone, this is the police! NOBODY MOVE!"

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 **Hopefully that's okay for a first chapter. Thoughts? Reviews are greatly appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 2: Smoke

**New chapter! This part takes place during Episode 3, Operation: Wet Tiger of Sly 2. In this chapter, there's a little more focus on the rest of the characters so that I can follow the game a little better. Good? Bad? I dunno, you tell me. In any case, there'll be more Sly and Carmelita next chapter, I promise. Disclaimer: while it may surprise you, I in fact do not own Sly Cooper or any of the characters portrayed in this story.**

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With a loud grunt, Murray threw the last guard into the air and punched him over the waterfall. His face was covered with sweat, and his breathing was heavy after an intense brawl with the small army that guarded the Elephant's Mouth.

"Okay guys, we're all clear down here."

"Nice work, Murray. Now put those muscles to the test and pry that thing open."

"Sure thing, Sly. Bentley, how are things up there?"

From the top of the tower, Bentley felt a lump growing in his throat as he looked into the sky. The sounds of high-flying patrol craft were giving him the chills; given the order, they would most likely drop ordnance anywhere in the temple grounds in order to stop any assaulters. And with that in mind, the intercom sparked to life, and Rajan's voice could be heard throughout the grounds.

"Alert! The temple facade is under assault! Put down this attack!"

As the intercom went silent, a series of mines began falling from the sky, dropped from the patrol planes circling above. Bentley could barely make out the mines from where he was, but they were most certainly mines; each hunter-seeker glowed with a dim yellow light and floated down by parachute.

While Bentley was beginning to panic, Murray was worried too and interrupted with another question through the binocucom.

"Bentley? Is everything okay?"

Bentley swallowed hard, and composed himself. Never before had he performed a task of this magnitude out in the field before, and on top of the stress of the task itself, he knew that the team was relying on him to do this. His adrenaline levels were through the roof, and he could feel the pressure squeezing his shell. Regardless, he let out a big breath and chambered the chopper's guns. "Don't worry about it, Murray. I've got you covered up here. Just concentrate on getting the mouth open."

"Okay, I'll get to work."

Murray began lifting the lever, straining hard against it. It would take some time to get it open, and there was no time to waste.

Meanwhile, Bentley aimed the guns at the first mine, and squeezed the trigger as hard as he could. His tiny frame rocked back and forth as the bullets spewed from the red-hot barrels.

Sly looked up into the sky, watching it fill with tracers and explosions as his friend detonated the mines in mid-air. Pieces of debris were falling everywhere, and he watched as guards from all over the temple rushed around in frenzied confusion trying to dodge the falling scrap metal.

"Guys, I need a sit-rep. These guards are gonna reorganize themselves soon, and I don't want to be walking around in the bomb when they come after us. I'd like to stay in one piece if at all possible."

Up in the tower, Bentley let go of the trigger as the last mine exploded, watching the smoke rise up from the barrels.

"Whew. Yeah, all clear from my position. Murray, how are you coming on that lever?"

With one final push, the lever raised all the way and the mouth opened with the sound of grinding stone. Wiping his brow, Murray fumbled with the mic for a moment and then said, "The Murray's might and muscle... triumph again! Sly, you're all clear to bring in the Cherry Bomb 500."

"Great work big guy, I'll be there in a minute. Be ready to bolt once this thing is lit."

Walking up the winding steps and stopping for the occasional passing guard, Sly eventually made it up to the door that was keeping the water from flooding the temple grounds. Murray stood by the entrance, watching as Sly set the bomb next to the door. The raccoon gave his friend a look and asked, "Alright big guy, you ready to blow this thing up?"

"Hell yeah!"

"Alright, on three. One... Two... Three!"

Sly jumped out of the barrel and the two friends ran as fast as they could to get clear of the blast. A few seconds later, the deafening sound of an explosion rang in their ears, quickly followed by the sound of rushing water.

Bentley watched from the tower as the water flooded the area at a terrifying rate, sweeping away the lucky guards and drowning the rest that were unable to get clear of the torrents. As the water rose up, he realized that he wasn't going to be able to get down from the tower to help his friends jump Rajan. They would have to secure the the other half of the Clockwerk heart on their own.

As soon as Sly and Murray had gotten to the high grounds of the grotto, the temple doors opened. Rajan stepped slowly out of the shadows, his face rippling with anger and veins popping out of his head. In his claws, he held a staff with half of the Clockwerk heart crudely tied to one end. One look at the floods, and he let out a booming roar, and leaped to the top of the temple.

"Black clouds and thunderbolts! My spice temple... ruined! I will no longer hide while you villains destroy my hard won empire! This place is mine... Here, I am king! Come, face me Cooper! With Clockwerk's black heart, I will show you true power! You are nothing. Come face the mighty Rajan, Lord of these hills!"

Murray snickered, and Sly twirled his cane with amusement.

"Boy, when we try to tick someone off, we really do the job."

Something hit the ground behind them with a thud, and when they turned around, Neyla was standing there with a mischievous look on her face.

"Yes... You do have quite a talent for it, don't you?"

Sly smiled and raised an eyebrow.

"Constable Neyla? Slumming it with the thieves again?"

She put on a serious face, and pointed her whip at the angry tiger roaring from the temple roof.

"That man is a menace, and he needs to be brought to justice."

"Listen, all I'm after is the Clockwerk part. You help me take him down, and the bust is all yours."

"Deal. Just try to keep up."

Neyla jumped on top of the walkway that led to the temple entrance, hopping onto the stakes that protruded from the ground, and Sly followed her up. Rajan watched the two as they leapt into view, and his mouth formed a twisted smile. Raising his staff into the air, the gang watched as the bolt of lightning struck down from the heavens, hitting the Clockwerk heart and flew down the walkway. Sly flinched as he felt the electricity singe the fur on his face as it passed the stakes next to him.

Jumping from stake to stake, Sly and Neyla dodged the lightning strikes and eventually made it to the base of the roof where Rajan was standing. Now was the time to take him down.

"Neyla, now!"

But she didn't move. Instead, she shrugged and gave Sly a deceitful smile.

"Sorry." She leapt off of the building, and began running. Rajan turned his head to Sly, and raised the staff to strike.

"What are you doing?!"

With a loud crack, Sly saw a blinding light fill his vision and felt a split second of pain just before everything went dark.

* * *

Carmelita was studying a mass of evidence and reports that had been laid out on the back of her Jeep. It was all that she could do; currently, without enough information on the spice temple that they had found, the officers higher up in Interpol hadn't authorized any sort of action. Typical. Leave it to the pen-pushers to wait around for the criminals to run.

But then she thought of Sly, and what had happened at the ball back at the palace. She frowned, and scrunched her face when she tried to make sense of it. What happened? Despite all of her efforts over the years to catch up to him, when she finally did, all of her efforts were thrown away the moment he took her hand. It gave her a warm but guilty feeling in her stomach.

Anyway, Cooper got away with the wings that night, and that meant that once again, she was feeling the repercussions. The Contessa (damn that witch), after the failure in India to reclaim the wings, didn't trust Carmelita with the underhanded recon mission that she wanted to conduct. So of course, with no one else around, that privilege went to Neyla.

Carmelita made a disgusted face. Neyla may have been her temporary partner, but she had a bad feeling about her. She was a prick about everything, and had to argue with every single statement that Carmelita made. But it wasn't those things that tipped her off; there was something else there that just seemed off. Inspector Fox couldn't put her finger on it, though. Instead, she kept looking through the files before her. More likely than not, Rajan had more Clockwerk parts here with him. And if the palace had told her anything, it meant that Sly was probably here too.

Suddenly, there was a rustling in the bushes. Carmelita instinctively drew her shock pistol and she aimed it at the foliage, her finger hovering over the trigger. With a loud crash, Neyla came sprinting out, breathing heavily and with her whip in hand. Sighing, Carmelita lowered her weapon.

"What did you find?"

"Rajan... and... Sly Cooper..."

Carmelita's heart skipped a beat when she heard Sly's name. But she kept a straight face and kept asking questions.

"Where?"

"By the grotto... I was able to knock them out, but the water was rising rapidly- they flooded the area-"

The Contessa stepped out from her own vehicle and came over to the other two officers. Carmelita was taken aback; Neyla had incapacitated Rajan? And Cooper?

"How did you-" she began incredulously.

The Contessa held up a spiny hand, and interrupted her.

"Inspector Fox, that is not important right now. Time is of the essence. Quick, Neyla, take us to them. They must be arrested as soon as possible."

Ten minutes later, Carmelita was jogging through a flooded temple following the other two officers, still confused as all hell as to what was happening. However, she maintained her composure and kept her mouth shut. Now was not the time to ask questions.

Coming up to the edge of the grotto, Neyla peered over the edge, and with one look, said "Happy day."

Carmelita stepped over to the edge as well and looked down, and the sight made her heart drop. Rajan was down, for sure, but so was Sly; he lay facedown and unmoving in the shallow water on the bottom. His friend Murray was waving his bloodied hands frantically, and yelled up at them.

"Neyla! Throw down a ladder, Sly's hurt real bad!"

But Neyla didn't answer. She had a twisted smile on her face, and Carmelita had to use all of her willpower to keep from blasting her partner and leaping down into the grotto herself.

"Can you hear me? I said Sly's hurt!"

"There they are, Contessa," Neyla said proudly. "Rajan and the Cooper Gang, all incapacitated, just as promised."

"Very good police work, Constable Neyla. Carmelita could never catch the Cooper gang, yet you manage to catch them in just a few short weeks!"

Whoa, whoa, hold up. Carmelita felt her face burning, and she started to say something.

"Well I never-"

But the spidery widow would hear none of it, and interrupted once again.

"Really, Carmelita, accept your defeat with some grace."

Neyla had something else to add though.

"Actually, Contessa... There's a good reason that Inspector Fox has never caught the Cooper Gang. She's been in league with them the whole time!" she said accusingly, pointing her whip at Carmelita.

Miss Fox felt herself filling with rage. That filthy liar. No way was she going to pin Carmelita as a dirty cop.

"Liar! ...prove it!"

Reaching into her pocket, Neyla pulled out a photo, and handed it to the Contessa. Wait... Was that...?

"That's a photo of Inspector Fox dancing with Sly Cooper, on the night that the Clockwerk wings were stolen."

All of a sudden, that rage had disappeared. Carmelita's face blanched with fear, looking over at the photo of her and Sly holding one another in front of the palace crowd. But... he was in disguise, using her, they couldn't possibly slam her for this... could they?

"But I- I didn't know I was dancing with Cooper-"

"You two certainly look... familiar in this picture. Guards, place Inspector Fox under arrest."

Carmelita looked at Neyla, who was smirking at her. Anger built up within her, but there was nothing she could do as the vulture guards came up behind her and prodded her with their crossbows.

"I'll get you for this, Neyla," growled Carmelita in a low voice. "Don't think I won't."

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 **Thoughts? Let me know what you think! :)**


	3. Chapter 3: Ignition

**Yay, another chapter (and a long one at that)! And more Sly x Carmelita stuff. Don't worry, from this point forward, it should pick up a little more, and I'll try not to focus so much on just the operations. Let me know what you all think! Please leave a review or favorite or whatever else, any feedback is greatly appreciated :) This is after Sly, Murray, and Carmelita are captured and on their way to prison. As usual I don't own any of the characters, respective owners, so on and so forth. Enjoy!**

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When Carmelita woke up, she was laying face down on a bench in the back of a police van with her hands chained up behind her back. An unflattering and ironic place for an officer of her reputation, she thought. She sat up, and looked around. Sly and his friend (Murray, right?) were also unconscious with their hands chained, each of them propped up against the walls of the vehicle. For some reason, it made her upset to see them in the condition they were in. If nothing else, she should've been the ones to arrest them. They were all in the same spot now, though, both cop and crook being put behind bars.

After a moment of studying her surroundings, Carmelita determined that escape wasn't an option. There was nothing with them in the back of the van, nothing they could use to break the chains that had them tied. Even if they could bust through the back doors, judging from the scene passing outside the windows, they would just be stranded in the jungle and god knows how far from civilization.

Looking back at Cooper, she felt that strange guilty but warm feeling again. She hated to admit it, but after all of their crazy encounters, it seemed that the thieving raccoon was growing on her. Her mind told her that it was wrong, that she needed to do something about it, but her heart said something entirely different. Perhaps Sly was more than just a thief. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to get to know him a little bit.

Just as those thoughts came to mind, the pink hippo began to stir. Carmelita watched as he slowly opened his eyes, and focused on her. A moment passed, and when the reality hit him, there was too much for the big guy to process. The confusion was clear on his face, and Carmelita almost felt sorry for him. Even though he was huge and built like a freight train, his eyes were full of child-like innocence.

"Uh... Inspector Fox?"

"Hey, you're Murray, right? You feeling okay?" Carmelita asked, hoping to keep him calm.

"Yeah, I'm... I'm okay... Wait, where am I? Sly...? What- what's happened?" he stuttered.

"We've been arrested by Neyla and the Contessa, and are being shipped off to some private Interpol HQ of Contessa's choosing."

"How..." Murray began, but he stopped. Scratching his head, he glanced at Carmelita's tied hands and tilted his head.

"Why are you chained up?"

Carmelita sighed.

"Neyla framed me, said I was working with you after that stunt that you guys pulled back at Rajan's palace. So now I get to ride with you two to jail."

"But you weren't working with us. That's not very fair at all, Neyla shouldn't be able to get away with that."

Carmelita raised an eyebrow in surprise. There was no sort of hostility whatsoever in his voice; if she didn't know any better, it sounded like he genuinely felt bad for her. A criminal who wanted justice. She never would have guessed.

"You're right, she shouldn't be able to get away with that. Don't worry though, she won't, I'll make sure of that."

Suddenly, Sly began to stir as well. Carmelita instinctively reached for her shock pistol as she always had, but there was no pistol and no way to grab it anyway had it been there. With a sigh, she scooted forward and watched as the raccoon's eyes flickered open. Like Murray, it took Sly a moment to realize where he was. His eyes roved all around him, searching for an exit but unable to find one. Finally, they landed on Carmelita. They stared at one another for a moment, then Sly smiled.

"So, you finally caught me, huh?"

Carmelita stifled a laugh, and gave him a stern look.

"I wish. In case you hadn't noticed, I'm tied up just like you."

"What? But why..."

The realization hit him like a brick.

"Neyla."

Carmelita nodded.

"That no good, back-stabbing... ARGH!" Sly balled up his fists, but relaxed again after a moment. There was no point in getting riled up now.

"I knew there was something shady about her. She's up to something, but I don't know what. I mean... why arrest me?" she asked out loud. What could Neyla possibly gain from getting her out of the way?

"That's a good question-" began Sly, but he stopped mid-sentence and keeled over, holding his head in his hands.

Carmelita gasped, and looked on with her eyes full of concern as he groaned in pain. He must've suffered some sort of head injury back at the temple. The inspector was infuriated; this was no way to treat a prisoner, he should've received medical attention right after he was detained. Well... That and it bothered her to see Sly hurt because of something other than herself.

"Sly? Sly, are you okay?" Murray asked worriedly.

After a moment, Sly sat up and let out a deep breath. He patted Murray's shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm okay big guy. Just a little busted up from the fall I guess, it's nothing really serious."

"You sure?" asked Carmelita without thinking.

Sly smiled half-heartedly.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Thanks for the concern though, Inspector."

She blushed a little bit, because she hadn't meant to say it out loud. Nevertheless, she wasn't entirely convinced. At the same time, she didn't want to push him at the moment. He was agitated, and she didn't want to make him any more upset than he probably already was. For the next hour or so, the three of them sat in silence, pondering their situation and thinking to themselves.

The jungle outside the windows began to thin out, and slowly transitioned into a valley, with massive snow-capped mountains rising up in the distance. Somehow, the police van had completely avoided any and all civilization, and there was nothing alongside the road other than dirt and plant life. Bumping it's way along at a steady pace, the van made its way through the basin, giving the passengers a wonderful view of rural India. Murray fell asleep after a while, leaving the other two to themselves.

As Carmelita stared out the window, Sly attempted to break the silence with conversation.

"Hey, I just wanna say... I'm sorry that you got framed for working with us back in the palace. I had no idea that they could accuse of you of it, I figured they trusted you more."

She glared at him for a second, and then sighed. Part of her wanted to chew him out for getting her into this mess, but deep down, she knew that it wasn't his fault.

"I had no idea they could accuse me of it either. They shouldn't be able to, I'm sure there's more to it than just what they said, but..."

She trailed off, and a quiet pause followed.

"Well, I guess I need to say sorry too," she murmured.

Ringtail looked confused.

"What for?"

"For letting someone else arrest you guys."

Sly laughed, and shook his head.

"I swear, what has gotten into you lately? You're like a whole new person. You laugh, you smile, you joke... I don't remember Carmelita Fox being such an easygoing and fun-loving person."

She tried to give him an exasperated look, but she was smiling on the inside.

"What are you trying to say? I'm still going to arrest you after this, don't you even think for a second that I won't."

"You mean, once I break us out of custody?" he asked humorously.

"Oh please. How do you know that I won't be the one to break us out?"

"Because somehow I get the feeling that you're not as used to this situation as I am. How many cuffs have you gotten yourself out of?"

Carmelita opened her mouth to speak, but when the words didn't come out, Sly put a finger over her lips.

"Right. Exactly. But don't worry, I promise I'll get you out of this too."

She squinted at him and playfully kicked his foot.

"Why should you?"

"It's fun having you chase me around. If I left you here, they might put someone else on my case, and then what? It wouldn't be the same, you know. Besides..."

Sly gave her a roguish smile. "...I really like this new Carmelita. I could get used to her."

She tried to suppress her delight, but she couldn't help but smile at the notion. _I swear, it's like he can never take anything seriously._

"Go ahead, by all means," she shrugged, "get comfy. So much easier to catch a crook when he's not on his toes."

"Carm, I really feel like you don't realize what's happened here. I've already been arrested."

He gestured to his hands, and said "I mean, what are you going to do, put a set of handcuffs on top of the chains?"

They both laughed, and Carmelita rolled her eyes.

"I might just shoot you, it'd save me the trouble of having to sit here and listen to your sarcasm."

"Hey, there's no need for violence now, when have I ever shot you?"

"That's not the point, you know that. Why did you beat Dimitri senseless, huh? What did he ever do to you?"

Sly sat up slightly, pretending to be taken aback.

"Did you just compare me to that counterfeiting disco lizard?"

Carmelita nodded, and crossed her legs.

"Wow," he said, with a pained look on his face. "That hurts."

"Good," she laughed.

"You're a mean one, you know that, gorgeous?"

"I take pride in that."

She was quiet for a moment, but her curiosity was beginning to get to her.

"Why do you call me gorgeous?"

Sly raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, I think that's pretty self-explanatory, Carm."

"Okay, well, besides the obvious. Why do you spend so much time talking to me? You know, as the thief, you're supposed to run _away_ from me, not come to me with almost every opportunity you get."

"Still think it's pretty self-explanatory."

She aimed a kick at his shin, but he moved his legs and her foot struck the wall with a loud bang. Murray yawned, and lay down on the seat, unaffected by the sound.

Sly shrugged his shoulders.

"What can I say, I like being close to you," he whispered.

With every word he said, it was becoming clear to Carmelita that she was starting to feel the same way. _God dammit... why does he have to make my job so complicated?_ she asked herself. He may have been a criminal, but there was no denying that they had some sort of feelings for one another. Both of them had gotten each other out of so many scrapes before, and for what? Without realizing it, she had done exactly as Sly had, and had continued the game. He would always run, but he would never get too far ahead. She would always follow, but she would never catch him. And after mulling over the thought for a moment... for the first time in her career, Carmelita was wondering if she actually _wanted_ to bust him. She let him go at the dance, and look where that had gotten them.

Suddenly, Sly was snapping his fingers in her face, pulling her out of her thoughts and back to reality.

"You good? You kinda zoned out on me there."

"Sorry, I'm just... A little preoccupied, that's all. It's just strange, because even after all of the crimes that you've committed, there's nothing to really prove that you're a bad guy. Just a mischievous man with a knack for a trouble."

He laughed.

"Well, I have always thought of myself as one of the good guys. I don't steal from the common people, and I help you put away all sorts of menacing villains before they can do any more harm to the innocent."

Which, although not easy to admit, Carmelita knew it was true. Unbeknownst to Interpol, the Cooper gang had done them almost as many favors as they had crimes.

"Still doesn't make it any more legal, you know."

"Doesn't have to be legal to be right," he replied candidly.

Carmelita sighed yet again. Maybe it was true, but she wasn't about to tell him that he was right. Inspector Fox was never wrong, and anyone who ever believed otherwise received a swift kick to the face or a shock blast to the chest. However, her hands squirmed in their chains, reminding her of the one exception to her own rule.

"When this is all through, I'm going to make sure that Neyla gets what she deserves," she muttered, shifting the subject. "She may have fooled Interpol, but she should've killed me if she wanted to get away with this."

Sly winked at her. There was the Carmelita he knew and loved.

"I'm glad she didn't think that far ahead then. Because unfortunately, Miss Fox, I call dibs on taking her down."

The Inspector shook her head.

"No, that's not your job. Besides, this is personal."

"As if it's not personal for me? My gang and I have been together ever since we left the orphanage, and Neyla's separated me from my lifelong friends. Bentley is probably worried sick right now, and Murray-" he glanced over at his massive hippo friend, still fast asleep, "-Murray... God, I don't even know what's going to happen to him, he's not the kind of guy who can live in a cage..."

Carmelita's expression softened. Sly was quivering slightly, and the grief on his face was plain. This meant just as much to him as it did to her.

"Don't talk like that, everything is gonna be fine. It always is for you guys."

He took a deep breath, and nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right."

Carmelita tilted her head slightly, and asked, "Wait... you guys came from an orphanage?"

"Yep. I thought you knew, isn't that on my file?"

"No, actually. There's hardly anything at all on your file, and definitely no mention of an orphanage." Carmelita felt guilty all of a sudden. Sly's parents were dead? How long ago did it happen? Is that why he was a thief? She sat back in her seat, thinking to herself. All of the time that she had spent studying him, and she barely knew the guy. Unnerving, really. Years, years that she had known him, but he was just as much a puzzle to her as he was the day that they had first met.

"Really?" he wondered. "Huh. Well it's a bit of a long story-"

Unfortunately, he was interrupted as the van rumbled to a stop. Carmelita looked outside, and she could see two private jets lined up on a thin dirt runway. Private jets? That couldn't be right, prisoners were never taken over seas with private craft. There was text emblazoned on the fuselages of both aircraft in some foreign language that she didn't recognize immediately. Was it... Czech, perhaps? Maybe Albanian?

The back doors of the van slammed open, and the light woke Murray up from his peaceful slumber.

"Whuh... Are we there yet?" he mumbled groggily.

"Not yet, buddy. Just a trade off, we're loading up on a plane," Sly answered.

The menacing vultures came around to the back of the van, aiming their loaded crossbows at the prisoners and beckoning them to leave the vehicle. Each member stepped off one by one, with Carmelita bringing up the rear. She tried as hard as she could to keep her temper; it was easy to see why criminals held their captors in contempt. She would much rather fight them off than submit, but she had no choice in this instance.

The men pointed at one of the jets, and Sly and Murray trudged over to it. When Carmelita started to follow, one of the guards extended a feathery arm, and blocked her way.

"Hey, what are you-" she started.

A car door slammed behind her, and everyone got quiet and turned to see the Contessa stepping out of her personal transport vehicle, a terribly misplaced smile on her face.

"Men, take the Cooper Gang to the criminal rehabilitation center. You know what to do from there. Make sure that they are given their proper treatment, and that each one is placed in their respective containment units."

Her eyes shifted to Carmelita, and her mouth contorting further into a cruel grin.

"But take Inspector Fox here to my private estate. As an officer under my jurisdiction, it is only logical that I give her my... _personal_ attention."

 _What the hell is that supposed to mean?_ Carmelita thought to herself.

The guards saluted, and silently led Carmelita to the other plane. As she was walking over, she looked up and locked eyes with Sly as he walked up the ramp to the other plane. He mouthed to her, _I'll come find you, wait for me._ Before she could reply, the guard shoved he and Murray into the cabin, and she lost sight of them. Her heart began to beat slightly faster, and the Contessa led her up the ramp to her own aircraft. She stepped into the plane, and made her way over to the nearest seat. The Contessa followed, and sat directly across from Carmelita in her own customized seat. Something was very, _very_ wrong about this.

The widow noticed the concern on Carmelita's face, and smiled eerily.

"Don't worry, my dear. Soon, all of your problems will be gone, I will fix this mess in due time."

"How will you-" Carmelita started, but she felt a sharp sting in her neck and reached up to slap it.

One of the guards was walking away with an empty syringe. She began to panic, but it was too late; the sedative was already taking effect.

"In the meantime," Contessa continued, "just try to relax."

The Inspector tried to yell in protest, but the sedative was already taking effect. As her vision blurred, the only thing she could see was the demented look on Contessa's face. In the distance, she heard the widow's maniacal laughter, and the darkness swallowed Carmelita's sight until there was nothing but black emptiness.

* * *

 **As always, reviews are greatly appreciated, and any of sort of feedback would be great!**


	4. Chapter 4: Capture

**Wow, so this took a little while to update. To make up for that, I'll be releasing the next chapter very soon, probably within the next couple of days. In the meantime, enjoy this new chapter! :) I seriously wrote this whole thing at midnight over the course of three nights, so it's probably a little rough around the edges and I'll try and revise it once I'm a little more awake. Sly has been caught, and Carmelita... well, she's in a strange position that's bound for a dark twist. As per usual, I don't own this franchise or its characters.**

* * *

Sly looked up at the massive walls that surrounded him, spotlights and turrets aimed at him, and the guards holding their fingers over the triggers. For a rehabilitation center, the security here was through the roof. This place was no prison; Sly had been to jail before, and this was far from it. No, this place was built for something much more terrible. He felt a shiver run up his spine.

Shuffling his way through the fortress, The Contessa showed him to "The Hole," as she liked to refer to it. The actual cell was just a small bunker in the ground, enclosed with electric fences and razor wire to ensure that he wouldn't even try to escape. Sly had never had much trouble getting out of the slammer before, but after seeing what this place was protected with, his confidence quickly diminished. Unfortunately, his chances of getting out of here were looking pretty slim.

He walked up to the door of his cell, and looked over at the eight-legged warden.

"Don't you think this is a bit overkill?" he asked, trying to keep a light tone.

"Not at all, dear. I know what you're capable of, and I am simply making sure that you have no chance of running," Contessa replied. "Besides, it ensures a show if you do try to get out."

"Uh huh. For someone who's a criminal psychologist, you seem a little far from sane."

"Oh, I assure you, I am quite sane," she answered coolly. Then she smiled, and it made Sly uncomfortable just looking at it.

"However... I cannot promise the same for you in the coming weeks," she added.

The door swung open, and the guards pointed their crossbows at the entrance. Sly looked around the compound one last time before stepping inside. In the distance, he could hear a wolf howling into the bleak darkness of the night. He sighed. Hopefully Bentley made it out okay; his friend was the only chance he had to get out of here.

* * *

Carmelita sat quietly in an office, somewhere in the Contessa's massive castle estate. The room was dimly lit, with only candles to illuminate the shadows, giving it an eerie feel. Everything about her estate seemed awfully gloomy, and did not look at all like the home of a prominent Interpol officer.

The Contessa had departed to oversee the Cooper Gang at the criminal rehabilitation center, and had left Carmelita here, with only a light guard to keep an eye on her. Because Carmelita was an officer, the widow had insisted that they discuss the situation and avoid making any "rash" decisions. As though drugging her and bringing her here wasn't rash in itself.

Still, Carmelita had hope that Interpol would get her out of this. As one of their best assets, it would be foolish to let her go so quickly without much proper evidence or a trial at the very least. Years of good work for the organization and a solid reputation should provide a decent barrier for this silly accusation.

Thinking over it, Carmelita felt a lingering guilty feeling in her conscience. Technically, she _did_ let Cooper get away back in Rajan's palace, and that could be considered assisting a criminal. But then again, she didn't know exactly what crime it was in the first place...

She shook her head and brushed off the thoughts. If she really was being given a chance here, there was no point in getting too stressed about it. About him. Ugh, damn that raccoon... he was messing with her head more and more each day. Every so often, her thoughts would wander to him, and it seemed that no matter where she went, there was something to remind her of him. She would look at the rooftops, and sometimes she thought she could see Sly, sprinting along the shadows without a sound to give away his presence. No longer could she look into a gloomy corner without imagining his eyes staring back from the darkness. It was a strange feeling, as though she thought he was stalking her. Except...

"I'm okay with that," she mumbled quietly to herself. It oddly comforting to think that Sly was there, because... well, because he was there for _her_. There was no other way to put it. Carmelita knew that Sly Cooper cared about her, but she was still trying to figure out whether or not she cared about him. It was all so conflicting. She couldn't have any feelings towards him, it would be unprofessional. But still...

She walked over to the guest room, and cleaned herself up before getting into the bed. A single guard stood watch outside of the suite, looking into the hall to make sure no one came in. As the woman fell asleep, her mind filled itself with all of these thoughts and blended themselves into her dreams and keeping her company through the cold and ghoulish night.

* * *

Sly's eyes snapped open, and he jumped up from the ground, cane already in hand. He could hear explosions outside, resonating inside of the Hole and filling his ears with a ringing sound. _What on earth_... he thought. Each blast shook the ground, and he could hear pieces of the wall breaking apart and falling into the compound. He could also hear guards, screeching as they were blown away by... well, whatever it was out there. Within a few short minutes, the explosions stopped. It was quieter now than before.

When he peered out of the viewport of the door, Sly couldn't really make anything out. Sure, there were a few more chunks of rock laying around that weren't there before, but... wait a second. The guards. They were gone. The top of the wall was empty of any patrol. Looking over as far as he could, he could see a crossbow laying in the dirt, its owner nowhere to be found. Sly smiled. There could only be one guy behind this.

Sure enough, within another half-hour, Sly heard a loud crash as something burst through the wall, showering his cell in rock and rubble. The sound of stone clanging on metal rang out loudly over the compound, somehow not getting the attention of the rest of the prison. A moment passed, and suddenly, the thief's binocucom buzzed to life. It had been sitting idle and quiet in the corner for weeks, but now, he could faintly make out Bentley's voice emanating from it.

"Sly? Can you read me?"

Sly grinned from ear to ear, and snatched up the binocucom.

"How I've missed that sensuous voice of yours," he chuckled.

There was a short pause, and he could tell that Bentley was smiling.

"Save the jocular comments for later, if you will. Do you see that hook above the train?"

Sly glanced up to look at the hook conveniently hanging above him.

"Yeah?"

"It's your only means of escape. Jump up and latch on with your cane ( **JUMP AND HIT THE CIRCLE BUTTON SLY** ), then swing onto the back of the train. I've already established a Safe House and downloaded its GPS coordinates into your binocucom. We'll rendezvous there."

"Wow, you've really thought of everything."

"Don't I always?" came a smug reply.

Sly laughed. "Yeah... you do. Thanks for busting me out."

"Ah, well you know the old saying. 'If you can't count on a friend to bust you out of jail, what kind of a friend are they?'"

"Truer words were never said... Wizard."

A few minutes later, after sprinting past numerous spotlights and dodging the seemingly endless patrols, Sly walked up the steps to the Safe House and put his cane on his back. It felt really nice to be out and about again; it had seemed like an eternity since he had seen his pals and gotten to run along the rooftops. Even if these rooftops were covered in gargoyles and werewolves... He let out a big breath. Some way or another, he needed to make it up to Bentley; he owed him big time for this. He opened the door, and his turtle friend looked up from the dim glow of the computer and gave him a big smile.

"It's good to see you again partner," beamed Bentley.

"You too buddy," he replied gladly, shutting the door and taking a seat. "How uh... How have you been? Keeping busy with all this, I'm sure?" Sly asked awkwardly.

"It was quite an experience to say the least. I'm just glad you're here again; being alone gets... well, lonely," Bentley responded somberly.

"I'm sorry about that bud." Sly smiled. "I promise, next time I'll make sure that they grab you too. Then we can all share a cell."

"Oh ha ha, that makes me feel better."

"That's what I'm here for."

There was a short pause, and then Sly piped up again.

"So, have you got a plan for busting out the big guy?"

Bentley gave him a look. _Duh._

"Well now that you're here, it'll be a lot easier to rescue Murray. You ready for another slideshow presentation?"

"You even have the presentation ready too?" Sly laughed.

"Of course I do. I had a lot of free time out here by myself, you know."

Sly felt a slight pang of guilt, thinking about little Bentley sitting alone through the nights, working tirelessly to figure out a way to rescue Murray and him. Yeah... He'd definitely have to make it up to him. Without further ado, Bentley flipped on the projector and loaded up the slides.

"Okay, so here's the situation. I've done some deep database crunching, and figured out that Murray is doing time in Cell Block D. Getting him out is going to be tough, as you know, he's... not very light on his feet."

A chuckle from Sly.

As Bentley continued talking, another thought popped into the raccoon's head. He kept quiet though, and waited for his friend to finish.

"...now once you've pulled off all of these jobs, we'll be ready to make a play for the big guy."

"Sounds like a solid plan, as usual," Sly complimented.

"Thank you," Bentley said, bowing slightly. "Any questions?"

Sly shifted in his seat.

"Um, yeah, actually. Did you happen to find anything on Carmelita? Is she... well, here?"

Bentley frowned slightly, and tilted his head.

"Uh... no, now that you mention it. She's not being held here, for sure." He noticed the concerned look on Sly's face. "...and I don't know where her plane was headed either. But I'll- um- keep an eye out for anything. Okay?"

"Alright. Thanks pal."

"Sure thing."

With that, Sly opened the door to the Safe House, and twirled his cane in his hand. It was time to save his friend, and hopefully, get a lead on his favorite policewoman. _I'd like to think that she's a friend of mine too,_ he thought to himself. He had made a promise to her back in India, even if it wasn't official. And he meant to keep that promise. Once Murray was free, Sly knew what he needed to do.

* * *

Carmelita held an ear up to the door of the suite. The Contessa was back, it seemed, and she was screaming at an entourage of men that had been assembled outside.

"All of you! Grab your weapons and get to your positions! The castle is on high alert from now until I say otherwise!"

There was a loud crash as someone dropped something and the sound of dozens of shuffling feet grew then faded as the footsteps got further away. High alert? What happened? The Contessa spoke once more, this time much more quietly. Carmelita had to strain to hear the words through the thick door.

"What a mess... I'm sorry gentlemen, but it seems that our situation has been compromised. Thanks to that blasted Cooper Gang, I needed to flee the rehabilitation center. Once the raccoon got free-"

Carmelita felt her heart jump slightly, and she smiled. Of course he got out. He always did. She felt a strange sense of relief swell up in her chest.

"-they ended up destroying all of the defenses and freeing all of their captured members, and inevitably caused enough of a mess that Interpol decided to stick their nose in our business, and they are aware of the operation now. We need to prepare for an invasion. The mercenaries are already on their way, and we need to be ready to fend them off until I can salvage this."

Wow. There was a lot in those sentences for the captive policewoman to process. What operation was she talking about? The Contessa paused for a moment, then continued in a strange tone.

"The Inspector... how is she?"

"She's fine, ma'am. No troubles from her, and she's in well enough condition," came a gruff voice.

"Wonderful. Take her to the re-education tower, and meet me there. I think I know how we're going to get out of this debacle."

Did she say "re-education" tower? Carmelita scratched her head for a moment. Re-education... _oh my god._ The Contessa specialized in criminal hypnotherapy. Hypno, as in hypnosis. There was only one thing that came to mind.

Suddenly, the door slammed open, and Carmelita jumped back as the guard burst in. They aimed their weapons, and beckoned towards the exit.

"Come with us. We're headed to the tower, you'll meet the Contessa there to... talk over matters."

Hah. Talk over matters. She had a pretty good idea of what that meant, but she kept her mouth shut and marched forward. Following the vultures, she passed a number of menacing looking wolves and bats wielding an odd assortment of old medieval weaponry. The entire place resembled some sort of odd feudal fortress. Maces and axes filled the halls and hands of the entire estate; not a single man was unarmed. If Interpol really was launching an attack on this place, how on earth were they going to fend it off with such old equipment?

Walking outside onto the bridge, Carmelita was corrected as she peered over the edge of the catwalk. Tanks rumbled their way through the streets below, leaving imprints in the asphalt as they made their rounds. Clearly, this place was geared for war. She felt a shiver run down her spine as a howl echoed into the night. _And I'm right here in the middle of it._

They opened the door to the tower and made it up to the highest floor, where the Contessa was waiting for them. The guards took their posts at the entrance to the stairway, and Carmelita stepped forward and looked around her. The room looked like some kind of torture chamber; there was a table propped up towards the center, with manacles for what she could only assume were ankles and wrists. On another table lay a wide variety of tools and instruments that closely resembled large and rusty dentist utensils. In another corner, there was a whirring machine that looked unlike anything that the Inspector had ever seen before. Just looking at it made her sick. But then her eyes went up, and when she saw what was hanging above them, it all came together.

The Eyes. Those were the Clockwerk Eyes. Only the Klaww Gang had the Clockwerk parts, and given everything that Carmelita had heard earlier...

"You traitorous witch," she scowled.

"Traitor? Nonsense, I never was allied with Interpol in the first place. They only _thought_ that I worked for them," she replied pretentiously.

"You have no idea what you're doing to yourself."

"Oh really? Because I think I know _exactly_ what I'm doing."

The Contessa pulled a lever on the control panel that she stood in front of, and suddenly Carmelita felt a loud ringing in her ears. It got louder, and louder, to the point that she was covering her ears as the sound pounded her skull and forced her to the ground.

"Stop! That- noise- what- AGHHH!" The pretty Inspector collapsed and curled up.

"Don't worry dear," the widow chuckled. "You're doing me quite the favor."

Carmelita wanted to say something, anything back, but the words caught in her throat and choked her breath. The machine... it was doing something to her. Her vison began to blur, and her head filled with flashes of sounds and images of terrible things. She struggled to ignore them, but the foreign thoughts ripped her conscience apart, forcing their way into her mind and exploding inside. The pain steadily increased, but nothing had physically happened to her. This is was all a product of her mind. She looked up, as tears drove their way out of her now reddening eyes and fell onto her uniform.

Her eyes made their way back to the Clockwerk Eyes, and when she met their gaze, the pain immediately subsided. She stared at the Eyes for a moment, and felt blissful relief fill her body as the terrible thoughts went away and the ringing disappeared. But as she continued to gaze at them, she felt a strange numbness begin to take hold in her mind. No... It was taking over. She could feel numbness creeping through her brain, washing away who she was and replacing her very soul with a blank space for someone else to write in. She couldn't let it get to her. Her eyes filled with tears again as she tore her eyes away from the artifact, and the pain came crashing back down on her again, this time even worse than before. She tried as hard as she could to suppress the screams that fought their way from her body, letting them out as a soft whimper.

In the distance, she could hear the Contessa laughing maniacally.

"What progress we've already made..."

Carmelita forced herself to her knees and locked her eyes with the widow's, staring at her with an intense hatred.

" _You'll burn in hell for this, and I'll be there to watch,"_ she spat. Then she slumped back over again, struggling inside to keep the dark thoughts out. The guards lifted her up and strapped her to the table facing the Eyes, locking her into place. Her mind crawled away from reality and tried to hide from it all, but one thought stood out among her own when the rest faded. _Sly..._

* * *

 **So that wraps up that. Kinda. I have an obsession with cliffhangers, okay? But if it makes you upset, you should tell me XD please leave a review or comment or something, each one means the world to me and I would love to hear some feedback. I'll need some help deciding on the plot points in the future, especially in regards to where Thieves in Time will or won't be and whether or not Sly 4 will be a story of my own creation. But, I'm getting a little off topic now. Expect a new chapter soon!**


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